As we drove east toward London, nothing could have prepared us. The sun shined, the traffic increased, the free London newspapers were handed out again and again and again. Euston station underwhelmed, as did its local environs. The motorway services had tried its best to prepare us via coffee. Pizza Express tried even harder by lining our stomachs. The late afternoon sun took the edge off the transition of day into night, telling us everything was OK and not to worry as we made our way toward Camden and its 'Palace' (I still can't bring myself to call it KOKO!).
And then there it was. It appeared, as if it had decided to come to us rather than us continuing on to it and lined along its walls were hundred of Blind Guardian fans who had made it to this one gig in England. The line of t-shirts; Blind Guardian, Iron Maiden, Iced Earth, Dragonforce, Killswitch Engage, Dreamtheater, Wakken 2006, Rush, even Journey stretched around and on and down - we should have got there earlier...
Stood in that queue, waiting to go in, as the artificial lights from the street and shops started to hold sway added to the theatre of the night. We were interspersed with people from all across Britain talking in hushed tones and anticipation shuffled slowly nearer the entrance. We passed discarded bottles and cans, looked longingly into 'The Hope & Anchor' pub window but didn't want to lose our place. And, finally we reached the main entrance. Music had already started. I managed to get my bag in but only after discarding a bottle of water? We were in!
What a venue! This old theatre had had its innards ripped out but still managed to maintain its character and charm. I immediately thought of Guardian's DVD: Imaginations Through The Looking Glass. We wandered upstairs and looked down upon Astral Doors who were already on and playing a 'blinding' set.
I had not heard of them before but this was a perfect setting in which to get to know them. The crowd were full of appreciation - heavy, with a presence and I'll definitely check out their CD (another one to add to the list that's growing longer than the queue we had just come out of!). We had set ourselves in 'The Stalls', downstairs next to the small, offshoot bar. Looking up to 'The Balcony' and 'The Gods' the place was packed and I saw flags from Scotland and Brazil hanging down, over the balcony rails. The t-shirts were awesome - I've got two and the throng around the stall selling them ate up enough time so that upon my return to front, the palpable anticipation gave way to Blind Guardian's entrance to 'War of Wrath' followed by 'Into The Storm' - amazing!
The Set List (as far as I can remember it)
- War of Wrath
- Into the Storm
- Born in a Mourning Hall
- Nightfall
- The Script for my Requiem
- Fly
- Valhalla
- Time Stands Still (At the Iron Hill)
- Bright Eyes
- This Will never End
- And Then There Was Silence
- Welcome to Dying
- Another Stranger me
- Imaginations from the other Side
- The Bard's Song (In the Forest)
- Mirror Mirror
Nothing could have prepared us. This was the most amazing gig I've been to (and I've been to a few), song after song after song. The new songs just slotted in seamlessly with the old. The visuals cast onto the backdrop mixed new album images with old and set the scene perfectly. The only one that could better it would be a another Blind Guardian concert. They could have carried on with track after track; Under the Ice, A Past and Future Secret, Harvest of Sorrow etc. as well as a wealth of tracks off the new album but the ferry to Dublin called. You could tell that everyone without exception had witnessed the making of metal history; "where can you get a t-shirt?", "He's got a relic"...
The T-shirts
My hi-light: 'The Bard's Song', closely followed by 'Valhalla' and 'Fly', closely followed by every other song they played.
I can enter 'the blessed realm' now, an ambition fulfilled.
rustle
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